Rabbit

[LordBalthazar]

Hills Foods offers rabbit as well as an assortment of other game meats including ostrich. I even heard they were thinking of bringing possum in. No kidding.

[SBonner]

Stong's had frozen rabbit last week. I've also picked it up at Hills Foods.

Stephen Bonner

[Chef Fowke]

PM me....I have a supply ~ and I will show you how to butcher them. You bring the wine, I will bring the bunnies.

[chappie]

I had thoroughly enjoyed rabbit the few times I've had it and once described it to a friend as tasting like "a chicken with dignity."

Lately I've been noticing a bumper crop of bunnies scuttling about, so I just might have to wander the woods this fall in search of a few.

Dad often tells of a cold winter he spent in college, with little but a pot of perpetual soup on the woodstove to nourish him and his crew. Low on veggies? Add some canned tomatoes. Low on meaty bites? Go shoot a rabbit, skin it, gut it, cut it up and add it to the soup.

[bleudauvergne]

How I wish Andi Pena Longmeadow Farm had sent me a PM when she was having some trouble.

When an animal is on my cutting board, I don't waste my time harking back into the past, not my childhood pet or story books, nor do I bother to think up narratives of any sentient mind activity of the creature may have had in its brief life.

What I do is toss myself headlong into the future - This brings me to see what this creature on my cutting board is : parts. Lovely meaty juicy sauce laden parts just waiting for me to cook them and serve them, nurture and nourish my loved ones with, and hopefully, if I've done justice to a dish, expand the depth of my appreciation for.

Carving an animal for cooking is a noble act. When you do it yourself, there is something in the truth of food that is uncovered. Since I have learned to seek out really fresh poultry and game, thus in many circumstances carving it myself, I have noticed that I take a moment as I begin in the kitchen to remember that this animal's life was extinguished in order to nourish humankind. I give thanks for that now more than I ever did. Maybe that is strange.

Milagai's comment in a question above deserves some attention. Andi Pena Longmeadow Farm did have a valid point in starting this thread. We might go as far as to say that half the thrill of discovering a new kind of food are the barriers within us that we cross along the way to full appreciation of them. Sometimes the barriers are in your mind, like the rabbit carving, but sometimes they are educational, technical, involve learning about a culture, a mind set, any number of things. We set our own, and we cross them, and we feel enriched in doing so.

I say bravo to Andi Pena Longmeadow Farm for examining her own barriers to carving rabbit, working through that, and sharing it here. And by all means, if you want to try out cooking rabbit but are a bit nervous about it, please don't pass it over just because of that. Everybody had a first time. Don't let that discourage you from preparing a lapin a la moutarde, because, I am telling you, it is something you do not want to miss.

- And Mallet, that is one super looking pictorial. Bravo.

[Peter the eater]

While shopping for groceries today I was feeling a bit reckless, there was a trace of swagger in the way I pushed the cart with my two melon-eating kids facing me.

And then I saw something unusual - a 2 kg (4.5 lb) organic rabbit, all wrapped up in plastic without any fur or innards. And it was half price (around four bucks, that sealed the deal) so I scooped up the juicy pink carcass and brought it home.

Now I need to come up with a meal plan in the next 48 hours (according to the label) or it must be sent to the scary freezer in the cellar. Around here the strategy seems be to be "make a pie" which sounds okay, but surely there are other ways to elevate this creature to something a little more special. I don't want my rodent to freeze!

Over the years I have eaten and/or seen a few nice rabbit dishes featuring things like olives or prunes, but as best as I can remember I have never cooked one.

I'm looking for ideas. . . time is running out.

[Lilija]

Last time I had rabbit, and it was exceptionally good, was done Brazilian barbecue style. Basted with some kind of fat, seasoned with coarse salt and pepper, and rotisseried, till it was crisp. AWESOME. It was served with black beans, rice, potato salad, and green salad.

I have no clue how one would pull that off, though, but just the memory of it makes me swoon.

[Nancy Sexton]

The best rabbit dish I've ever cooked was from "Frank Stitt's Southern Table" -

Red Wine-Braised Rabbit with Wild Mushrooms - and served with his recipe for Spoonbread.

It's not the easiest or faster - but man oh man how very good.

If you don't know what spoonbread is, think of it as a bit of a cross between creamy polenta, cornbread and custard. - I haven't ever made creamy polenta since I discovered this Spoonbread recipe because it's better and easier to make (and sits awesomely under any braised meat).

I must say the Zuni Cafe Cookbook has some interesting ideas for rabbit, but I haven't tried them yet.

I hope you have a library with good cookbooks so you can check these great books out.

But since Italian recipes will almost always permit you to use a chicken in place of the rabbit in some braised dish - I guess you could try any chicken braise recipe as well. Though it'll taste a little different.

I'm not saying you must braise it - Zuni has a treatment for sitting it on rock salt for a while, then frying it. I just haven't tried it yet.

Nancy

[KarenDW]

This brings to mind one day, many years ago, when I asked my children (then about 4 and 7) what we could make for dinner on Easter. They responded "roast rabbit", not thinking at ALL about Mr. E.B. An acquaintance of ours had a rabbit farm, and so we had access to WON. DER. FUL. fresh rabbit. I haven't made this dish in over a dozen years (kids are now graduated). But I recall: in a clay roasting pan, one cut up rabbit, two coarsely chopped onions, a few carrots (ironic), some celery, maybe a turnip, a 1/2 cup of white wine? Baked, covered, at 325-350 for about 2 hrs. Easy, to be sure. Not incredibly elegant, but tasty. And not too fancy or rich for little children. We probably served w/ rice and a salad, and more steamed vegetables.

[heidih]

It has been a long time but my most successful attempt was a 2 prong attack. I found the loin (saddle?) to be really white meaty like chicken breast so I did that browned, glazed with something spicy and flavorful and roasted but with a little liquid around to give steam. The leggy "darker meat" parts I did like coq au vin- very tasty.

[plk]

The best rabbit I've ever had was a braised rabbit on pappardelle pasta I had at The Girl and The Fig in Sonoma. I think the sauce was a little mustardy and a little garlicky. I think there was also a bit of pork smokiness from some bacon lardons. So good!

[maher]

if its a whole rabbit the toughest part is cutting it up... after that its easy.

dredge the pieces (figure on 8 pieces or so from one whole rabbit, how you portion them isnt important so long as they are roughly similar size) in flour and saute briefly in olice oil to brown.

take them out and saute a whole mess of onions and mushrooms (try for flavorful ones, like porcinis, dried if fresh arent available)

put the rabbit pieces back in, cover with a bottle of red wine (you can add a glass of port or sherry for a stickier flavor, but you dont have to)

add water to cover if the wine isnt enough, and add your choice of herbs (i use thyme, rosemary and marjoram, plus a couple of chili peppers for a little residual heat)

simmer covered till the rabbit is tender (1 to 2 hours depending on size)

toss in a little cream to thicken the sauce if you want, then serve with good crusty bread to sop up the gravy.

damn, im gonna have to find some rabbit to cook now.... good luck!

[SuzySushi]

Similar to what maher does, my favorite way of cooking rabbit is in mustard sauce. Slather the rabbit with Dijon mustard & refrigerate a couple of hours, then blot off the excess mustard, flour and brown the pieces (I use butter and oil). Remove while sauteeing mushrooms (and onions or leeks, if desired). Return the rabbit to the pan, add wine (I usually use white for this), chicken stock, and herbs. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer, covered, until the rabbit is cooked. Thicken the sauce with a little cream or creme fraiche at the end. Delicious!

The same basic recipe, cooked with more liquid, also makes a wonderful soup. Remove the rabbit when it's done and shred the meat, discarding the bones. You can add rice or wild rice to this while it's cooking.

[sharonb]

Or lapin à la dijonnaise. Slather the rabbit (whole) with mustard and put in a baking dish. Bake for an hour. Afterward, scrape off the mustard into the juices in the pan, add a big dollop of crème fraîche, and reheat, stirring and scraping.

As far as the loin/saddle goes - it's not really equivalent to white meat chicken, since it is the fattiest part of the rabbit. Much fattier (and tastier) than the legs, though with lots of treacherous little bones...

[petite tête de chou]

Lucy (bleudauvergne) has done wonderful things with rabbit- clicky

[Charlie O]

You could always make a terrine with it - bone the rabbit, mix in a processor with sausage meat, then add whole hazelnuts, juniper berries and herbs. Put it in a bain marie for about 90 mins at 180C

While it's cooking (and cooling down) you could also use the bones to make rabbit stock.

Another favourite recipe of mine is to bone the rabbit keeping the flesh in one piece (quite tricky). Then lay an omelette and herbs on top, roll it up and tie. Use the bones to make a stock and braise the meat in this for about 2 hours (I think). To serve, slice the meat and reveal the yellow omelette spiralling through

[Pat Churchill]

I've got a rabbit stew recipe on my website. Or stuff it and roast it much like a chicken. Yummmmm.

[wattacetti]

Another favourite recipe of mine is to bone the rabbit keeping the flesh in one piece (quite tricky).

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I've done this, and would concur that it's a major PITA; if you want to do this, either have a lot of time on your hands or have a second rabbit and some Activa handy to patch the holes.

I've turned the rabbit stock into "fresh-squeezed bunny juice" (gelatin-clarified consommé), which gets a lot of weird looks.

My favorite braised dish was a rabbit which had been braised with pears and white wine.

You can also:

- stuff the saddle

- debone and stuff the legs

- confit the legs

- make rabbit sausages

- make meatballs

- make hasenpfeffer

[Peter the eater]

I've got a rabbit stew recipe on my website. Or stuff it and roast it much like a chicken. Yummmmm.

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That looks lovely, thanks. I assume 4-6 rabbit legs means 4-6 hind legs? I sometimes forget that those downunder are seasonally opposite to me, do rabbits have a season?

I like the idea of steaming a whole rabbit, then easily removing the slightly cooled meat for use in a stew-like dish. This has worked well for small chickens and birds whose anatomy is unfamiliar to me or are simply bone-ridden. And the steaming water has concentrated flavour.

Has anybody done this sort of thing? Maybe a store-bought rabbit is too lean for this approach, one that works better on fatty foods like pork ribs and waterfowl?

[mikeycook]

My personal favorite is to braise it after stuffing the legs with chanterelle mushrooms. I'll usually do some version of a traditional french braise (i.e. mushroom stock & wine & herbs, etc.).

[Harry]

One of the quickest, easiest, and best-tasting ways to cook a rabbit is to fry it just like a chicken. Since the pieces aren't as thick it's a lot easier to get a good crust without the meat being undercooked at the bone. Here's how I do it:

Cut up the rabbit if it's not already cut up.

Season the rabbit pieces with whatever you like--I like Paul Prudhomme's Veal and Pork seasoning, but all it really needs is plenty of salt and pepper.

Heat vegetable oil (enough to half-way cover the rabbit pieces) to the proper temperature--hot enough for a pinch of flour to sizzle lightly, but not burn. If you're using an electric skillet or a frying thermometer 350 degrees is probably the ideal temperature.

Fry until it looks done, turning once.

Drain on paper towels.

[CheGuevara]

rabbit is one of my favourite meats, but i dont find it is excellent in various ways unlike other animals.

first option is to roast it at very low temperature for a few hours, until it is nice and golden. just lay it flat belly side down. with it prepare a sauce like cream and morels.

second is you take maher's recipe above but i replace the red wine with white, omit the mushrooms and herbs, only onions and garlic. also, no water.

-che

[Peter the eater]

rabbit is one of my favourite meats, but i dont find it is excellent in various ways unlike other animals.

first option is to roast it at very low temperature for a few hours, until it is nice and golden. just lay it flat belly side down. with it prepare a sauce like cream and morels.

second is you take maher's recipe above but i replace the red wine with white, omit the mushrooms and herbs, only onions and garlic. also, no water.

-che

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Thanks Che.

Would you add extra lipid like bacon strips on top or baste with oil? I assume your rabbit is uncovered during the slow roast?

Incidentally, your avatar reminds me (among other things) of how much I used to love a good cigar.

[Kouign Aman]

Last time I cooked rabbit, it was as a stew. Easy and good.

[LittleChef22]

I have never tried rabbit. What does it taste like?